Artificial composite fuel.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARY C. FITTS AND ELLA K. ZINGG, OF SALAMANCA, NEW YORK.

ARTIFICIAL COMPOSITE FUEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,215, dated August 7, 1900.

Application filed January 15, 1900. SerialNo.1,528- (No specimens.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MARY G. FIrTs and ELLA K. ZINGG, residing at Salamanca, in the county of Gattaraugus and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Composite Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in artificial composite fuel made of small particles of coal, coal-dust, coke-dust, peat particles, or anyother coal refuse.

It is the special object of our invention to produce bricks, lumps, or other-shaped pieces of composite fuel which produce more heat than ordinary artificial fuel and do not crumble or fall to pieces during burning. The shaped pieces may be easily handled, and the resulting product is water-repellent. The additions imparted to the coal particles leave a very small percentage of ashes and retain their binding quality until the fuel is completely burned up.

The composition of which we make the bricks, blocks, lumps, or other-shaped pieces consists, essentially, of coal particles, resin, alkali, such as soda-ash, and petroleum.

In carrying out the invention we substantially proceed as follows: About four pounds of resin are heated together with about ten quarts of Water in which a quantity of alkali insuflicient for the complete saturation of the acids represented in the resin, such as abietic acid, has been previously dissolved. In this instance about one and one-half ounces of soda-ash or an equivalent quantity of other alkali will be sufficient. This mixture is gradually evaporated to dryness, and after it has somewhat cooled about one pint of petroleum is added, and the whole is finally mixed with about fifty pounds of coal particles. While hot the mass is thoroughly agitated for half an hour or until all the coal particles are enveloped by the mixture. Then bricks or blocks are formed of it, or the mass is allowed to cool and is broken up into irregular lumps of any desired size. If desired, the coal particles may be mixed with tanbark or sawdust before being mixed with the above-described additions. The bricks or blocks are pressed into shape while the mass is still warm. After cooling they have attained a great degree of hardness, so that they can be handled as roughly as common coal, and as the composition is water-repellent they need not be stored so carefully and in dry places as other composite fuels.

The bricks may also be used for paving purposes, especially in the place of wood-pavements, by virtue of their water-repellent quality. They are further advantageously used as tiles for drainage, for instance, in greenhouses. For these uses the bricks are manufactured under extra heavy pressure, so as to render them more homogeneous and compact.

Having thus described our invention, we claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- A novel composite fuel, consisting of coal particles, petroleum, resin and alkali in a quantity insuflicient for the complete saturation of the acids, represented by the resin.

MARY O. FITTS. ELLA K. ZINGG. Witnesses:

W. H. HAZARD, O. G. VREELAND. 

